The hallway outside was emptier than it had been in a while. Most people had places to go, and with the next big situation-room type meeting being downstairs, people who would be going back and forth were mostly just going forth.

Which meant it wasn’t all that hard to find a place to chat. In the end, I stopped at the railing near where I’d talked to Jessica and Darnall.

“It’s good to see you,” I said. “I hope your team wasn’t hit by this catastrophe.”

“It wasn’t,” she said, pulling her scarf down. “But we did lose a good portion of the city. It might be years before we’re back where we were, especially with the relationships to Shin and Cheit being as strained as they are. No advance preparation, some of the thinkers that helped put us on the right track are gone now. We have far too many people out in the cold right now.”

“Is this doable?” I asked.

“If the Titans were dealt with immediately, and we got to work, everyone coordinating to work together? I think so.”

She’d become a bit more of a politician in the time since I’d known her. That was a very positive message to convey a negative sentiment, with several points left vague. How immediate was immediate? Today? In the next hour? Who was ‘everyone’, heroes or heroes and villains? How coordinated did she mean?

All for a ‘I think so’. Not even a confident ‘yes’.

“There’ll be time for that at the briefing,” Miss Militia said. She pulled out a handkerchief and rubbed at the corners of her eyes. “Sorry. There was a lot of smoke. The other Wardens and I exchanged a few messages and decided it was best if I was the one to talk to you. I’ve talked to you more than anyone else.”

I thought about that, then nodded. It felt like a lifetime ago.

“If it weren’t for that, it would have been Defiant, but we were all pretty sure he would have spent the bulk of the time yelling at you.”

“Oh,” I said. I thought for a second. “This is that kind of conversation.”

“I’m afraid so. If it helps, I don’t have long,” Miss Militia said. “I’ve seen some the notes on the situation, thanks to Dragon and Director Armstrong.”

“Is he a director now?” I asked. “Or is he—”

“He isn’t. Not officially,” she said, cutting me off.

“Sorry. He had me going over notes, clarifying terms and wording. I might be a bit in that mode.”

“It could be that it’s a more comfortable mode than the one that has to face what’s happening on Gimel and its neighboring worlds,” she said, a bit more sympathetic.

“Are you doing okay?” I asked. “It’s a lot.”

“I’ll manage. I’ve always managed. We’re worried you’re the one who isn’t managing, Victoria. There are patterns of problem behavior.”